Mass volume producers, meanwhile, are in a tougher market and consequently the axe hangs over Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory on the Wirral. It is unlikely that another big car plant will be built in the UK soon, so the production of new models is vital for sustaining investment and jobs. Toyota's Burnaston plant in Derby set a good example last year by securing the production of a new hatchback, which could result in up to 1,500 extra jobs at the site.

This is why the F-type is a triumph for JLR employees and why Ellesmere Port desperately needs to secure the contract for the next generation Astra.

Vauxhall is struggling along with other mass volume manufacturers, like Peugeot, Fiat and Renault, because the European market is over capacity to the tune of 1m vehicles – the equivalent of around five factories. A new model win is needed to keep the wolf from the door. If the new Astra model goes to another plant, then Ellesmere Port faces being phased out of action.

The JLR announcement has been greeted, rightly, with a mixture of pride and nostalgia. But the UK government, targeting a doubling of exports by 2020, needs to be rooting for the slightly less glamorous Astra too.